Iniesta out for six to eight weeks

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta will be out for between six and eight weeks, the Spanish champions confirmed on Saturday after he suffered knee ligament damage in a 3-2 win at Valencia.
Iniesta was stretchered from the field in tears after just 14 minutes, but fears he could be sidelined for months were eased by tests upon his return to Barcelona. “After the first diagnosis carried out at Mestalla, the tests in Barcelona have shown the extent of the injury,” Barca said in a statement. “The time out is between six and eight weeks.”
Iniesta could now return in time to face Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season on December 3. However, he will miss Barca’s Champions League trips to Manchester City and Celtic next month.
Barca had earlier confirmed Iniesta had injured the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. Coach Luis Enrique was incensed when Valencia’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Perez escaped without even a yellow card for the challenge that caused the injury. “We saw very clearly from the tackle it was an injury, and a serious one,” said Enrique.
“We will see tomorrow, but it will be weeks. There wasn’t even a yellow card.”
Barca’s season has been plagued by injuries so far as Lionel Messi has just returned from nearly a month out, whilst Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba were injured in Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Manchester City. Messi has returned in fine form, though, as his sixth goal in three games since his comeback deep into stoppage time from the penalty spot moved Barca to the top of La Liga.

Struggling Lorient part
company with coach Ripoll
French Ligue 1 strugglers Lorient yesterday announced the sacking of coach Sylvain Ripoll in the wake of their latest defeat. The announcement came after the Brittany side lost 1-0 away at Dijon on Saturday, their third straight defeat and eighth reverse in 10 matches this season leaving them bottom of the table on goal difference with just six points.
Former Lorient player Ripoll, 45, had been promoted from his role as assistant to Christian Gourcuff to the position of head coach in 2014.
In his two full seasons at the helm, Lorient finished 16th and then 15th in France’s top flight with Ripoll’s job made harder by the sales of key players such as Lamine Kone, Raphael Guerreiro, Didier Ndong and Jordan Ayew.

Chelsea honour late
vice-chairman Harding
Chelsea marked the 20th anniversary of the death of club vice-chairman Matthew Harding prior to their Premier League home game win against Manchester United yesterday. The front cover of the match programme was inspired by the programme produced for the first game after Harding died in a helicopter crash on October 22, 1996.
A life-long supporter, Harding is credited with laying the foundations for the modern Chelsea.
Banners in the Matthew Harding Stand, renamed after his death, read: “MATTHEW HARDING’S BLUE AND WHITE ARMY” and “MATTHEW HARDING — ONE OF OUR OWN”. Fans unfurled a large flag bearing his image.
“We also remember Matthew Harding this weekend,” long-serving captain John Terry wrote in the match programme. “Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of his death and we will pay tribute to him today because this club owes so much to him. As well as a popular vice-chairman, he was a massive Chelsea fan and his family still are — I know some of them are guests of the club today. He has never been forgotten by this club or you supporters and it is fitting that the north stand bears his name. It would be great to win this one for him.”
Harding died aged 42 when a helicopter taking him back from a League Cup game at Bolton Wanderers crashed, killing him and his three fellow passengers as well as the pilot.
Lippi to net millions as
 China coach: Report
Marcello Lippi will earn almost $5 million a year as China coach but will pocket far more through a tie-in with a football academy, state media yesterday.
The 68-year-old Italian was named boss of the national team by the Chinese Football Association on Saturday and has the tricky goal of steering the Asian giant to qualify for the 2018 World Cup – a near impossible feat given recent losses to Uzbekistan and war-torn Syria.
Lippi’s annual salary “should be in the region of 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million)” said state broadcaster CCTV.
But the offer made to the Italian also includes income from Guangzhou Evergrande’s football academy which will pay “Lippi and his team” 15.5 million euros annually to act as official “advisors” for the establishment, CCTV said.
The club, which is riding high atop the Chinese Super League, did not confirm the figure when contacted by AFP.